Automatic control for brake systems



[April 1937- c. c. FARMER 2,077,920

AUTOMATIC CONTROL FOR BRAKE SYSTEMS Filed June 15, 1935 EMPTY POSITION LOAD POSITION EMPTYPVOS/TION INVENTOR CLYDE o. FARMER ATTORNE Patented Apr. 20, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT AUTOMATIC CONTROL FOR BRAKE SYSTEMS Application June 15, 1935, Serial No. 26,741

10 Claims.

This invention relates to fluid pressure brakes and more particularly to means by which the braking apparatus on a car may be automatically adjusted to produce heavy or light braking power according to whether the car is loaded or empty.

It is the principal object of this invention to provide improved means automatically operable in response to variations in the load carried by a car for adjusting the braking equipment on the car to produce relatively great or relatively small braking force according to whether the car is loaded or empty.

A further object of the invention is to provide 5 a hopper car having a wall thereof adapted to be deflected by the material placed in the car, and having means associated with said wall and controlling operation of means for changing over the braking equipment from empty operation to load operation.

A further object of the invention is to provide a hopper type of car having a slope sheet supported at spaced points and adapted to be deflected intermediate these points in response to the weight of the material placed in the car, and means operated by deflection of the slope sheet and controlling means for changing over the brake equipment from empty operation to load operation.

Other objects of the invention and features of novelty will be apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic view, partly in section, of one form of my invention showing the apparatus conditioned for empty braking,

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing the apparatus when conditioned for load braking, and

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 33 of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawing a portion of the slope sheet or inclined bottom wall of a hopper type of car is indicated by the reference numeral I.

The slope sheet I comprises a metal plate of suitable thickness which extends longitudinally of the car and is inclined upwardly from a point adjacent the mid portion of the car to a point adjacent the end of the car. The slope sheet is supported at spaced points laterally and longitudinally of the car by a suitable means, (not shown).

The slope sheet has a relatively large area thereof, preferably located intermediate its ends,

normally unsupported, and adapted to yield or bend when subjected to the weight of the material forming the load on the car.

A support is provided to limit the deflection or bending of the slope sheet, this support comprising a member 6 which is secured to a portion of the car structure 4 through members 5. The member 6 has its ends'l secured to the slope sheet at points spaced laterally of the car, these points being located substantially in the plane in the slope sheet when the slope sheet is undeflected by a load. The member 6 is curved slightly so that the mid portion of this member is offset a short distance from the slope sheet when the slope sheet is in the normal position. The mid portion of the member 6 is joined to the end portions 1 by portions which gradually approach the end portions and are joined thereto through comparatively small angles.

The braking equipment for the car has associated therewith a change-over device indicated generally by the reference numeral l8 and adapted to condition the braking apparatus so as to vary the braking power developed for either empty braking or for load braking. The change-over device Ill forms no part of the present invention and any well known device of this character may be employed.

The change-over device l0 has an arm H associated therewith and in one position of this arm the change-over device it! is adapted to condition the braking apparatus for empty braking, and in another position to condition the braking apparatus for load braking.

A lever I5 is provided which is pivotally supported intermediate its ends on a pin it which is supported by a bracket l! which is secured to a portion of the car structure. One end of the lever I5 is connected by means of a link 2| to a bracket 20 secured to the lower face of the slope sheet and the other end of this lever is connected to the arm H through a link 23.

In operation, when the car is empty, or is only partially loaded, the slope sheet I is maintained in the position in which it is shown in Figs. 1 and 3 of the drawing, by the inherent elasticity or resiliency of the material of which it is constructed, in which position it is out of engagement with the mid portion of the supporting member 6. When the slope sheet is in this position the lever l5 maintains the arm I l in the position in which the change-over device ill conditions the braking apparatus for empty braking.

When a load is placed in the car the Weight of which is sufiicient to bend or deflect the slope sheet downwardly into engagement with the supporting member 6 throughout the length of this member, that is to the position in which it is shown in Fig. 2 of the drawing, the lever I5 is actuated so as to move the arm II to the position in which the change-over device In conditions the braking apparatus for load braking.

The slope sheet remains in this position as long as the load remains in the car, but as soon as the load is removed or is reduced below a predetermined amount the slope sheet returns to the position in which it is shown in Figs. 1 and 3 of the drawing, and on movement of the slope sheet to this position the change-over device I0 again conditions the braking apparatus for empty braking.

While one embodiment of the automatic load brake apparatus provided by my invention has been illustrated and described in detail it should be understood that the invention is not limited to these details of construction and that numerous changes and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the following claims.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. An empty and load brake apparatus comprising a device for varying the braking power, a car body including a slope sheet subject to the weight of the material forming the load on the car and adapted to be deflated thereby, means controlled by the deflection of said slope sheet for adjusting said device, and means adapted to have load supporting connection with the slope sheet at a point intermediate the margins thereof to limit the deflection of the slope sheet by the material supported thereon.

2. An empty and load braking apparatus comprising a device for varying the braking power, a car body including a wall supported at spaced points and subject to the weight of material forming the load on the car, the wall being yieldable intermediate said points, means controlled by movement of said wall for adjusting said device, and means adapted to have load supporting connection with said wall at a point intermediate said spaced points to limit movement of the wall by the material supported thereon.

3. An empty and load brake apparatus comprising a device for varying the braking power, a car body including a slope sheet subject to the weight of the material forming the load on the car and being adapted to be deflected thereby, means having load supporting connection with said slope sheet at a point intermediate the margins thereof to limit deflection of the slope sheet by the material supported thereon, the slope sheet being normally maintained away from the point at which its movement is limited by the elasticity of the material of which it is constructed, and means controlled by deflection of the slope sheet for adjusting said device.

4. An empty and load brake apparatus comprising a device for varying the braking power, a car body including a wall supported at spaced points transversely of the car and subject to the weight of the material forming the load on the car, the wall being yieldable intermediate said points of support, means having load supporting connection with said Wall at a point intermediate the said spaced points for limiting movement of the said wall and means controlled by movement of said wall for adjusting said device.

5. An empty and load brake apparatus comprising a device for varying the braking power, a

car body including a wall supported at spaced points transversely of the car and subject to the weight of the material forming the load on the car, the wall being yieldable intermediate the points of the support, means having load supporting connection With said wall at a point intermediate said spaced points to limit movement of the wall by the material supported thereon, the wall. being normally maintained by the inherent elasticity of the material of which it is constructed away from the point at which its movement is limited, and means controlled by movement of said wall for adjusting said device.

6. An empty and load brake apparatus comprising a device for varying the braking power, a car body including a wall supported at spaced points and subject to the weight of the material forming the load on the car, the wall being yieldable intermediate the points of support, means having load supporting connection with said Wall at a point intermediate said spaced points to limit movement of the wall by the material supported thereon, said means being adapted to permit the portion of the wall adjacent a plane substantially mid-way between the points of support to move a greater distance than the portions of the wall adjacent the points of support, and means controlled by movement of said wall for adjusting said device.

'7. An empty and load brake apparatus comprising, in combination, a device for varying the braking power, a car body having a wall supported at spaced points and subject to the Weight of the material forming the load on the car, said wall being yieldable intermediate the points of support, means controlled by movement of the wall for adjusting the said device, and means associated with the car structure and adapted to have load supporting connection with the said wall at a plurality of points intermediate said spaced points to limit movement of said wall by the material supported thereon, said means being adapted to permit the portion of the wall adjacent a plane substantially midway between the points of support to move a greater distance than the portions of the wall adjacent the points of support.

8. An empty and load brake apparatus comprising, in combination, a device for varying the braking power, a car body having a wall subject to the weight of the material forming the load on the car, means controlled by movement of the Wall for adjusting the said device, means associated with the car structure and having load supporting connection with the said wall at spaced points and having portions intermediate said spaced points adapted to have load supporting connection with said wall on movement of the said wall by the material supported thereon whereby the amount of movement of said wall is limited, the portions of the wall intermediate said spaced points being normally maintained out of load supporting relationship with said means by the inherent resiliency of material of which the wall is constructed.

9. In an empty and load brake equipment for a vehicle, in combination, a. vehicle body having a wall extending across the end of the vehicle and subject to the weight of the material forming the load on the vehicle, the wall being supported at spaced points adjacent the side walls of the vehicle body and being yieldable intermediate the points of support thereof, bracing means carried by the vehicle structure and adapted to have load supporting connection with said end wall at a plurality of points intermediate the points of support of the wall to limit movement of said wall by the material supported thereon, said bracing means being adapted to permit the portion of the wall adjacent a plane substantially midway between points of support of the wall to move a greater distance than the portions of the wall adjacent the points of support thereof, the wall being constructed of resilient material and being normally maintained out of load supporting relationship with said bracing means by the inherent resiliency of the material of which it is constructed, a device for varying the braking power of the brake equipment on the vehicle, and means responsive to movement of said vehicle body end wall for adjusting said device.

10. In an empty and load brake equipment for a vehicle, in combination, a vehicle body having a wall extending across the end of the vehicle and subject to the weight of the material forming the load on the vehicle, the wall being supported at points spaced apart transversely and longitudinally of the vehicle, the Wall having an area intermediate said points of support which is normally unsupported and which is subjected to the weight of the material forming the load of the vehicle, bracing means carried by the vehicle structure and adapted to have load supporting connection with said wall at a plurality of points intermediate the points of support of the wall to limit movement of said wall by the material supported thereon, said bracing means being adapted to permit a portion of the wall substantially midway between the points of support to move a greater distance than the portions of the wall adjacent the points of support thereof, the wall being constructed of resilient material and being normally maintained out of load supporting relationship with said bracing means by the inherent resiliency of the material of which it is constructed, a device for varying the braking power of the brake equipment on the vehicle, and means responsive to movement of the vehicle body end wall for adjusting said device.

CLYDE C. FARMER.

CERTIFICAT Patent No. 2,077,920. April 20, 1957.

CLYDE C. FARMER. I

It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows: Page 2, first column, line 51, claim 1, for "deflated" read deflected; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 29th day of June, A. D. 1937.

Henry Van Arsdale (Seal) Acting Commissioner of Patents. 

